Give Me Love

Chapter 20

Marcy sang Boyz II Men's End of the Road softly under her breath as she made marinara sauce.

Manny loved her voice and her cooking. He just vibed and watched her.

She went about adding herbs and spices to the brew. When it reduced to a simmer, she let it go.

"What other songs are you going to sing?"

She hunched her shoulders, on a slow jam kick. She went about getting the sterilized mason jars and the labels for them. "When are you going to tell me who she was?"

He huffed. "Why are you still on this? I don't have a hidden past."

"Not hidden from you."

He narrowed his caramel eyes.

"Just tell me. I'm not going to stop and I know you're lying."

He sighed heavily before finally just telling her his shameful past.

Marcy stayed quiet to the end. She merely worked on canning her sauce.

When he finished, he waited for her to tell him about himself.

"You're an idiot."

He knew it. He bowed his head.

"You're an idiot for not begging that girl to take you back."

He gasped. "I couldn't do that!"

"Because of your pride?"

"No!" His soul called him a liar. "Maybe? Yes."

"You've got to get over that. Pride can hurt you. It's a deadly sin for a reason. What would you rather? Her back and some humble pie or your pride and a cold bed?"

He swallowed thickly. "Her. Just her."

"Then try your damnedest to change her name from Eva Jorge to Eva Rodriguez."

"But-"

"No buts. It's do or don't."

Manny felt that in his soul.

M&MC

It took a week to gather his courage but Manny finally called his mother. "Hola, Mamí."

"¡Hola, míjo!" Conchata Rodriguez sounded happy to hear from her middle son. "¿Qué pasa?"

Manny smirked at his hip Mamí. "I am fine."

She grunted.

"Why would you think anything was up?"

"You have not called in many días and a Mamí knows."

He groaned lightly. "I was talking with my employer-"

"The little boy who takes the fotos o the little girl that takes the fotos o the little girl that baila?"

"The one who dances."

"I like her."

Manny smirked. "Well we were talking and she told me that it would be a good idea to look up Eva..." He held his breath.

"Eva?"

"Sí. She said I was estúpido to let Eva get away."

"Does she know what you did?"

"Sí. She seems to think what I did does not matter as much as what I do next."

His mother made a noise of approval.

He frowned at his phone before putting it back to his ear. "You approve? I thought you said I did not deserve Eva anymore?"

"You did not but the past is behind us. Move forward. Apologize. Get married."